Electrolytic apparatus for treating metals and ores



No.'6|6,89|. Patented vlan. 3, |899.

G. D. BURTN.

ELEG'-'BULYTIC APPARATUS FOR TREATING METALS AND DRES.

(Application led July 19, 1897.)

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Patented 1an; a, |899.

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a. n. Bumm. ELECTRULYTIC APPARATUS FUR TBEATING METALS AND (IRES.

(Application led July 19, 1897.)

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MTN-55555 NiTED STATES PATENT Enron.

GEORGE D. BURTON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 616,891, dated January 3, 189.9.

' Application iiled J'uly 19, 1897. Serial No. 645,090. (No model.)

To LZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE DEXTER BUE- TON, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in an Electrolytic Apparatus for the Treatment of Metals and Ores, of which the following is a specication.

yMy invention consists in an apparatus for selecting, separating, and preserving from a substance or compound one or more of its elements and in depositing the dross or residue in a receptacle by itself, the action being electrolytic and mechanical.

The apparatus is particularly adapted to separate metals from their ores, but may be applied to other purposes, such as separating copper or other metallic substances from sand chemically combined. This apparatus may also be used for separating the component parts or elements of compounds of which organic elements form a part or the whole.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section showing the entire apparatus. Fig. 2 is a cross vertical section taken on line m a: of Fig. 1. Eig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 'y y of Fig. 1, the guiding-rollers being shown in elevation. Fig. 4 is a top view of one of the screens or deflectors which are placed in the main tank.

The drawings represent in general the essential features of my invention, the minor details being of such a nature that they can be supplied by an ordinary person skilled in the art.

In the drawings, T represents a tank madel rollers D D3 by the pulleys F F', connected by the belt E2 and mounted upon the shafts of the said driving-rollers. East and loose pulleys F F4 receive the driving-belt F3, by which'power is communicated to the apparatus.

S is a belt-shifter arranged to operate in the usual manner.

Besides the main tank T, I have an upper tank K3, a lower tank K, and a receivinghopper H. The circulation of electrolyte is as follows: The overflow from the tank T passes down the pipe T3 to the lower tank K,

thence through the strainer N and pipe K to the pump P, and thence it is forced by the pump through the pipe K2 to the upper tank K3. From the said upper tank K3 the flow is through the pipe K4 and distributer K5 to the hopper H and then into the main tank.

S S are inclined screens or deiectors, perforated or otherwise, placed in such a manner as to distribute the downflowing electrolyte, as well as the material to be acted upon, that is fed through the pipe or chute L. These screens or deiectors may be composed of wood or other suitable material, or they may be composed of plates of zinc or any suitable conductive material, covered or partially covered with zinc or other conductive material. If a solution suitable for the extraction of gold or silver from the ore is used, each screen may be connected to the negative source of electricity.

The decomposing action in the tank T takes place between the electric transmitting-plates A and O, which are termed, respectively, the anode and the cathode. The anode receives the positive current through the positive wire A and the cathode discharging it .solution and the liquid will become `an elec- ICO trolyte under the action of a proper electric current, and upon subjecting it to the further action of an electric current copper will be deposited upon the cathode C and the residue will settle upon the belt B and be carried from the tank and dropped into the car R and carried away. By working the pump P the solution may be kept in motion with a steady flow about and through the screens or deeetors S S and into the other parts of the tank. As the liquid rises in the main tank it will pass down the pipe T3 to the lower tank K, when it can settle, the excess passing through the strainer N to the pipe K', and thence to the pump, by which it is raised to the upper tank K3, from which after settling it passes again to the main tank, As the process goes on the liquid may be still further supplied with the necessary ingredients, so as to keep it at the right density and used continuously from tank to tank. The solution may be varied and adapted to the nature and quality of the ore under treatment without departing from the invention. Fresh liquid may be added from time to time, as required.

In the treatment of such substances as contain copper, gold, silver, zinc, or other metals, where it is found that some of the valuable products contained therein do not deposit, but remain in the solution, I wish to reserve the right to modify or change the solution and, if necessary, substitute other plates or electrodes for A and C, so as to recover all of the valuable properties contained in the solution.

The collecting or cathode plate C may be of wood or paper covered with graphite or plumbago, or it may be of a metal of low fusibility, so that when covered by a deposit of metal of high fusibility the cathode may be melted out and the deposited metal left over, or it may be composed of platinum or copper, or be platinum-plated, orbe composed of any suitable substance capable of attracting and preserving the valuable product reduced from the ore.

It will be observed that by the use of my invention I use the liquid over and over with little loss of the same, which is of importance in the treatment of ore or metallic substances by an electrolyte.

There I use the word ore in this specification and claims, I desire it to be understood as applied to any substance in any form which contains metallic particles in a crude or treated state.

Vhere I use the words screens or deiieetors in this specification and claims, I desire to be understood as reserving the right to any equivalent apparatus that will perform the same functions, and I also reserve the right to make said screens or deilectors movable or fixed within said ore-treating tank, as in treating ores of a elayey nature it might be necessary to have them movable in case they became clogged or choked.

The belt B may be made of any suitable material-such as cotton, wire closely Woven, leather, tbc.and may be tightened at any time by any known method, so that it shall always be at the proper tension to work successfully.

I have described one method of producing an electrolyte for the treatment of ore containing copper. It is to be understood that the character of the electrolyte must conform to the requirements of the ore or substance being threated in order to reduce the metallic particles, so that they will be taken up by the solution and recovered therefrom upon the proper depositing-plates C by the action of the electrolyte, therefuse or residue from the ore after treatment being removed from the ore-treating tank immediately. It will also be observed that when the plates C have taken up all the metal that will deposit thereou they can be readily removed from the tank l and other plates substituted and the operation continued with little loss of time. The material to be treated and electrolyte being fed to the ore-tank simultaneously and continuously and removed therefrom immediately after treatment and the continuous use of the electrolyte over and over, combined with the other elements shown and described, are important factors in the use of this apparatus.

The advantage derived from disposing the materialfeeder and the electrolyte feeder adjacent to each other and feeding the material and the electrolyte in conjunction into the tank is that the inflowing material is by the action of the inflowin g liquid thoroughly distributed throughout the tank and over the screens and clogging prevented. If the material were fed dry into the tank, it would pile up and remain in one body and all parts of it would not be reached and acted upon by the electrolyte, and if the liquid were fed into the tank through a feeder disposed away from the material-feeder it would simply be pumped out from the lower tank to the upper one and then again returned to the central tank and would not serve to distribute the material throughout the tank.

I claim as my inventionl. In an electrolytic ore-treatin g apparatus, the combination of a tank for containing an electrolyte, an anode disposed in said tank, a cathode disposed in said tank, a screen or deileetor also disposed in said tank between the anode and cathode and adapted to distribute the ore or material being treated, said screen having a conductive surface connected to the negative pole of an electric source whereby it is adapted to collect a portion of the product reduced from the ore by the action of the current and the electrolyte.

2. In an electrolytic apparatus, the combination of a tank for containing an electrolyte, an anode disposed therein, a cathode disposed in said tank, screens disposed in said tank between the anode and cathode and adapted IOO IIO

to distribute the material being treated, said screens having a conductive surface connected to the negative pole of an electric source whereby they are adapted to collect a portion of the product reduced, a material-feeder, and an. electrolyte-feeder disposed adjacent to each other, and adapted to feed the material and the electrolyte simultaneously and continuously into said tank, means for causing a circulation of the electrolyte, and an endless belt disposed below the screens and adapted to remove the material after treatover said tank, a material-feeder for feeding the material to be treated into said hopper, 4

and a perforated electrolyte-feeder for feeding an electrolyte into said hopper in conjunction With the material whereby the inilowing'material is acted upon by the inflowing electrolyte and thoroughly distributed throughout the tank thereby preventing clogging of the material and facilitating a thorough action of the electrolyte thereon.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEO. D. BURTON.

Witnesses:

GEORGE E. BUTLER, t G. A. PURBEEK. 

